Over on Cato Unbound, there is a thought-provoking debate over the radical extension of the human lifespan. In his lead essay, Dr. Aubrey de Grey of the Methuselah Foundation argues that we should be doing all we can to cure aging. According to the web site, he thinks we are likely to be able to do this within 30 years if we start trying.
The idea of humans living for 1,000 years immediately brings to mind the image of old, frail people lingering about in nursing homes for centuries, but that’s not what the doctor has in mind. He argues that we could preserve and extend the vitality people have in their 20’s or 30’s. He envisions people who are still young, strong, and energetic at the age of 80… or 800. Some argue that we should not try to achieve such feats of longevity, but I find most of their arguments unconvincing. (more…)
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Tagged: Cato Institute, death, Methuselah Foundation
Today over on Queercents, I explore the differences between investing in index funds, actively managed funds, or individual stocks. Here’s an excerpt:
Any finance professional will tell you that if you want to grow your wealth, your asset allocation needs to include stocks. The reason is simple - stocks have the highest potential return. In the many articles on how to invest for your retirement, a common recommendation is to get stock market exposure through a low-cost index fund. There are good reasons for that, but buying actively managed funds or individual stocks are also valid approaches, with different benefits and drawbacks. I want to discuss some of those here. I’m not a financial advisor, but this is my take based on what I’ve read and my own investing experience.
Before we get into that, I should point out that we’re only talking about the stock portion of a portfolio here. The concept of asset allocation - how much to invest in stocks versus bonds versus anything else - is a topic for another article. Similarly, I’m ignoring targeted maturity funds, since they take care of asset allocation for you. I’m also ignoring exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which can be a good alternative to index funds.
Read the rest of the post here.
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